Final answer:
A Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement (MEWA) provides health benefits to employees. It is a collaborative plan where multiple employers pool resources for health insurance, not to be confused with retirement, disability, or life insurance benefits.
Step-by-step explanation:
A Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement (MEWA) provides health benefits to employees. These arrangements are collective plans that allow multiple employers to pool their resources and offer health insurance and similar benefits to their employees. MEWAs are not provided for retirement benefits, disability benefits, or life insurance benefits—they focus specifically on health-related benefits. This system is an alternative to traditional single-employer health plans and may help in reducing costs and improving the accessibility of health care for employees.
MEWAs operate in addition to federally mandated programs such as Social Security and Medicare, which are forms of social insurance. However, unlike Social Security and Medicare, which provide income and health care benefits to the elderly, MEWAs offer health benefits to active employees across various participating employers. With rising healthcare costs, MEWAs present an important option for employers seeking to provide comprehensive health benefits as part of the overall total compensation per hour package for their workers.